Update on European Language Translations

TCGs are an amazing medium that brings together people from all around the world. With Flesh and Blood now being played in 38 countries, making the game accessible to our international fans is a priority.

When we launched History Pack 1 (Black Label) last year, we were very excited by the prospect of sharing the love of FAB with even more players within our foreign territories.

Since then, we’ve learned a lot. I'd like to share our learnings with you.

Localization is a complex process, requiring the collaboration of translators, production managers, creatives, and game developers to capture the correct feeling (both thematic and mechanics) for every name and game text, and maintain consistency across all languages.

Early last year, we partnered up with two firms to translate History Pack 1 (Black Label) and a portion of History Pack 2 (Black Label), hoping to tap into existing subject matter expertise. While the majority of the translation was “technically correct”, the feedback from the international community was that the translations lacked flavor, and were not up to the standards that we should hold ourselves to.

We have worked hard since, and brought the process in-house; we have recruited talented translators from within the community and gaming industry, implemented new QC checks, and adopted various computer-assisted tools to assist with the process. We’ve also engaged subject matter experts as well as various members of the international community to assist with reviews, and to ensure that the translations are not only technically correct, but capture the correct flavor and storytelling of Rathe.

What we've been working on

Know that we’ve heard you; from the discussions about “pitch” in Spanish and Italian chats, to the disappointment of German and French players upon seeing certain class names for the first time. We’ve heard you, and we’ve made and will continue to implement changes until we are satisfied with our work.

Here are a few examples of the types of changes you will find across the soon to be released History Pack 2 boosters and History Pack 1 Blitz Decks, with many more quality of life updates implemented from Outsiders onwards that will bring us closer to our objective of a seamless localization experience.

(Note - there was quite a gap between when HP2 and HP1 Blitz Decks were translated and produced, which is why localization differences exist between these products. The Blitz Decks were translated and produced after HP2.)

Italian

Comments from the translation team - Flesh and Blood has always revolved around a unique resource system and, as such, “pitch” is a crucial term within the game. We were soon made aware that the translation chosen for “pitch” in some languages was not representing its core design. For Italian, we tried a different approach first in History Pack 2, but after extensive and thorough conversations both with the community and within the localisation team internally, we came to the conclusion that keeping the original word was what the translation needed all along. Similarly, classes like “Lama Runica” or weapons like “Bastone” were not representative enough of what we wanted to convey with our products, so you will also find several updates to these terms that have helped us improve the overall feel of the game.

Spanish

Comments from the translation team - Spanish cards have seen refinement similar to Italian, and we were able to enhance a lot of the terminology to better suit what we want Flesh and Blood cards to look like for Spanish-speaking players across the world. These types of changes might cause some confusion at first, but all of them have been carefully pondered and selected to match each target locale. We might not be able to take back our dear friend Comerciante Hope, but we have certainly implemented other improvements such as “Respuesta” or “Arrojar” within the keywords so abilities and effects are more in line now with the intention behind the English terms.

German

Comments from the translation team - We decided on “pitch” staying in English for all languages to keep the essence of our special Flesh and Blood resource system, but “go again”, despite being also a very recognisable FAB term, did have very good options for translation without losing its meaning along the way, so we eventually decided to update the French and German translation. Other terms like “Attack” or “Temper” had translations that felt too literal back in History Pack 1, so we hope you like how we have adapted these terms to their intended meaning in the same way we chose to change the name of the Brute class.

French

Comments from the translation team - Following the same decision as with German for “go again”, French has also been able to improve the feel of more key terminology as early as History Pack 2. Keywords like “Blade Break” previously felt far too bland for us to feel comfortable using them going forward, so the French community will be able to enjoy more changes in this regard. We are also pleased to confirm that names beginning with “K” in English, such as Kano or Kassai, have been updated and will no longer start with a “C” as per the community has been requesting.

These examples from each of the European languages are just a small list of all the improvements we have been implementing in each new product after careful consideration of the community feedback we have been receiving.

European players can rest assured that all of these changes have been discussed in depth among our localisation experts with the goal in mind to achieve a great player experience and set up the pillars of what our localised products will look like going forward. They can expect to use these new and improved terms for the many years to come.

History Pack 2

History Pack 2 was the largest Flesh and Blood multi-language set yet with 536 cards. With a limited edition Black Label version, our players will be able to start seeing some of the improvements in the localisation process such as the changes mentioned above together with better consistency across the text from different cards.

This product includes some card names and changes that we would have liked to have spent more time perfecting. However, the many improvements to flavour are visible starting with History Pack 2 and some of its more evocative and colourful card names.

History Pack 1 Blitz Decks

We have crafted History Pack 1 Blitz Decks as a ready-to-play out of the box product that will welcome new players into the world of Rathe with 6 decks available in French, German, Italian, Spanish and English.

While we were not able to change the existing translations of card names from History Pack 1, we were able to make some minor updates to certain names so as to match standard language rules from each target locale.

Below are a few comparison examples of cards that you will find within the Blitz Decks.

We made the decision to continue to use the card names that had already been printed, since making changes to card names can cause confusion and functional problems with card mechanics that care about the names of cards, as well as create problems with tournament operations such as when events require deck lists to be used.

History Pack 1 Blitz Decks and History Pack 2

During the localization and production of History Pack 1 Blitz Decks and History Pack 2 boosters, we learned a lot, developed our team and processes, and built in check points as we became more experienced.

History Pack 1 Blitz Decks and History Pack 2 were each complex projects in their own ways. The Blitz Decks were complex due to it being effectively 30 sub-projects (6 decks across 5 languages). History Pack 2 was complex due to the sheer size of the set (2144 cards across 4 languages). Our check points back when this project was in production were not quite well enough established to catch every inconsistency. We have since reinforced the check points, which will be seen by the quality and consistency of the Outsiders booster and Blitz Deck localisation when they release on March 24.

The inconsistencies that are present in the Blitz Decks and History Pack 2 boosters are:

German:

• Come to Fight in the Rhinar Blitz Deck uses the original History Pack 1 name, but in the Viserai deck it uses a different name. Going forward, including in Outsiders (spoiler!), the History Pack 1 name will be used for Come to Fight.

Italian:

• Aether Flare in the Kano Blitz Deck has a different name than the name originally used in History Pack 1 boosters. The new name for Aether Flare will be used going forward.
• Rip Through Reality and Pierce Reality have the same name in History Pack 2. Pierce Reality will have its name changed next time it is printed, to Perforare la Realtà.

Spanish:

• Pummel in History Pack 1 boosters and Thump in History Pack 2 boosters have the same name. Pummel's name was updated in the new Blitz Decks and will be the name used for Pummel going forward.

Outsiders

We are very happy that Outsiders will be the first Flesh and Blood product released simultaneously in 5 languages on March 24. We see simultaneous release accessibility as a major milestone towards Flesh and Blood being a truly global game that recognizes and celebrates the diversity of fans across the world.

In Outsiders you will see continued refinement to syntax in all 5 languages, including English. Overall, we believe the localization seen in Outsiders is of a high quality both mechanically and flavorfully, and sets a stable foundation for the localized products that follow.

Here are a few examples of what you can expect to see from deep down in the Pits;

We are looking at a very strong and steady future of localised Flesh and Blood products. Any steps we have taken, and any changes we have implemented, have been carefully considered and thoroughly discussed with our mind set on offering the highest quality products for our fans worldwide.

We want to take this opportunity to also send a huge thank you to our fellow gamers for their ongoing support and understanding while we have learnt and refined our localisation processes.